Sweden agrees to head possible UN peacekeeping mission in Ukraine

Answering to speculations about a possible leading role in a UN peacekeeping mission in Ukraine, Swedish Defence Minister Peter Hultqvist stated on 17 February that his country would agree to assume such responsibility under „the right conditions”. He also implied that, although that was not the case at the moment, the UN peacekeeping initiative was gaining a positive momentum.

A UN peacekeeping mission is, theoretically, supported by both Russia and the West, but although Moscow would like to see it deployed along the demarcation line, Kiev and the US argue this would reinforce the separatists' grip on Donbass, and call for the force to be stationed throughout the region and especially on the border with Russia. After two rounds of negotiations between the US and Russia on the issue, Kremlin signalled its disponibility to „study carefully some doable US proposals”. Hultqvist's comments are related to a report from Anders Rasmussen - the former NATO Secretary General currently advising Ukrainian president Poroshenko - that is calling for the deployment of 20,000 soldiers and 4,000 policemen from non-NATO countries. It is not clear whether Russia would even consider this. Although Sweden is not a NATO member, its relations with Russia are strained.